A year ago I got my transplant 🙏 A year ago I was in the hospital for a month. And a year ago I lost all my hair !!! This is me now with a different hair color. Different texture and different cells in my body. But I’m very grateful and appreciate life and my hair 🥴🤣 to the fullest !
One year ago, my world changed when I was diagnosed with AML leukemia. What followed was the hardest year of my life: isolation, months of not being able to travel, two long hospital stays — including New Year’s Eve — six different types of chemotherapy, and a four-week hospital stay for my bone marrow transplant.
Today, I’m standing on the other side of that storm with 100% donor cells — thanks to an incredible 26-year-old man somewhere in Northern Europe who saved my life. I’m still rebuilding, still getting childhood vaccines again, still healing… but I’m here. And I’m grateful.
Through every brutal moment, my kids, family, and friends surrounded me with love and support. But there is one person whose love carried me in a way I can never fully put into words.
Henrik.
My rock.
My joy.
My safe place.
He took the entire year off just to be with me. He showed up every single day — driving to the hospital again and again, meeting me with a smile, a hug, and a positivity that never once wavered. He held me through the fear, lifted me through the pain, and somehow made space for laughter even on the darkest days. He never complained. Not once. It was pure love, every single day.
And then… on Valentine’s Day, he proposed to me.
After a year marked by uncertainty, he gave me something beautiful to look forward to — a future we get to share.
I am alive today because of an anonymous donor, a team of doctors, and the unbelievable resilience of science. But I am living — truly living — because of the people who loved me through the hardest year of my life. And Henrik, my amazing fiancé, has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Here’s to healing, to hope, and to love that refuses to let go. ❤️
✨📖 I have to share something truly special…
My best friend, Monica, just released her first book — and it’s absolutely incredible. I know I might be biased (she is my best friend, after all), but this book completely took my breath away.
It’s about her life — and the great love she found, lost, and learned from. It’s beautiful, raw, and real. I laughed, I cried, and I felt every word. Monica has a gift for seeing the world in a way most of us miss — she finds beauty in the smallest moments, and somehow, she makes you want to live more fully, love more deeply, and notice the details that make life worth it.
Her storytelling is funny, honest, and deeply human. This isn’t just a book — it’s art, heart, and hope all woven together. 💫
If you can, please support her in getting this masterpiece published. The world needs to read this story.
❤️ Here’s to Monica — and to everyone brave enough to share their truth so beautifully.
⸻
🌿 Out now / Coming soon — please check it out and spread the word
Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter @melenalip ❤️❤️. You light up my world and I’m so proud of the woman you have become. You are a force of love, strength and endless fun. I love you to the moon and back ❤️
Happy birthday beautiful Boy❤️🎉🎂. You are the kindest and funniest young man …you make me so proud.
25 years old on the 25 th of September year 2025….. I love you to the moon and back ❤️❤️🥰🥳🌹❤️
Mom
Leaving Denmark 🇩🇰🥺.
We had an amazing time with family and friends.
It wasn’t the “normal “ trip since I’m still in treatment. But thank you to all my family members and friends for understanding the situation, and for all the love.
Being in isolation as I/we have been makes it even harder to begin the normal life again.
I’m on my way though 🥺❤️……
I never knew the aftermath of bone marrow transplant and endless chemotherapy, would cause such havoc on your mental health and body .
I’ve been struggling with such different feelings and emotions.
Perhaps it is my donors cells in me 🤷♀️🙏. I’m 100 % my donors cells , which is amazing and I’m eternally grateful. But wow it is different!!!! It’s as if my body is constantly hard at work, day and night, and my mind can’t quite keep up.
The anxiety and depression is real but manageable.
I’m getting all my childhood vaccinations again nov 1. And my hair is coming back in all shades of mousy grey 🤓.
I just spend 5 days with my bestie ❤️💫 thank you Monica for all your love and support. I’ve been in isolation for a long time surrounded by love,but I needed this time with my incredible friend.
We talked and talked , cried and laughed!!! She cooked for me and made me feel beautiful ☺️.
Monica has a magic touch, and with her eye and her senses she inspired me to dress different.
I love you to the moon and back Monica 💕❤️ @monica_abbatemaggio
Finally feeling like myself again 👩🦲🌹❤️. It’s been a long year and after being diagnosed with AML leukemia 7 months ago. And fast forward to now after many different chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant … I’m feeling much better. I’m still in isolation but counting the weeks 🙏. Thank you to all my amazing friends and family for making me feel SO loved. Your support has been everything to me🌹🙏❤️. Today i felt for the first time somewhat okay with my bald head 🤣😳. Still waiting for some hair to come back. I also put a tiny bit of make up on for the first time in many months. Thank you @ogee for setting me up with all new clean makeup ❤️. And I’m still obsessed with my sunglasses @medeasisters 😎.
My daughter💕🫶🏼 @melenalip found right away the site to become a bone marrow donor .
A 26 year old mand is saving my life by donating his bone marrow to me. He is a complete match ( which is a beautiful and strange thing , that we have a complete copy of our chromosomes and DNA out there ).
I’ve asked a lot of questions ,because it’s such a beautiful thing . And most young people ( preferably between 18-40 years old ) find such joy in being a part of the bank ,and the ultimate is to be called to safe someone’s life.
I urge anyone to sign up 🙏🏼❤️. I myself was a donor but now I’m too old.
You don’t have to donate bone marrow, instead they take it from your blood. They’ll pay your trip if you are the lucky one to save a life. And take good care of you.
Many people have great chances of a match. But many other groups have very poor matches. It’s important that as many ethnicities is represented ! /get-involved/join-the-registry
Here I go . I’m getting admitted tomorrow 🙏🏼. It’s called day -5 today in bone marrow transplant. I’m on my 4 th day of pre transplant chemo and will have one more day of that. Then I surrender to City of Hope’s famous transplant team . I’ll be getting the actual transplant may 1 ! I am very nervous but ready . I’ll be blasted Monday with very hard chemo to shut my bone marrow down basically 😵💫. I have been so blessed to have a perfect donor 10/10. A young 26 year old man. Thank you ❤️🙏🏼. I will meet you soon. I encourage all young people to become bone marrow donors, it’s not a difficult procedure, it just giving blood and you can save somebody’s life ❤️.
I’ve taken all my jewelry off and getting ready with my things I need in the hospital.
I’ve gotten so so many beautiful presents and I am so grateful 🙏🏼.
Going through chemotherapy I learned from my first stay at the hospital, is a very individual experience. For me I got insanely sensitive dry skin. I had my @januarylabs products with me and it was amazing🫶🏼💗. Then I used La Roche -Posay product as well and again great result. It’s actually tested on cancer patients @larocheposayusa . I loved using easy clean product from the pharmacy like CeraVe renewing SA cleanser. And the CeraVe hydrating oil cleanser … super. My absolute favorite salve is by @tulipefievre 💫❤️. All their products from candles to body oil changed my state of mind when I came back home .. as my skin started to adjust to the chemo I started using @dralkaitis natural skin care 🙏🏼❤️💫. Again amazing !!! I’m bringing again my “in hospital” favorites , and leaving other favorites to enjoy when I have to be isolate for a 100 days. Yes my la mer @lamer will be in use 🥰. If I’m gonna be bald I better have best skin I possibly can.
